A Bug's Life
by Josephine77
Summary: When Neal Cassidy shows up in Storybrooke, he spies a relic from the past that brings back memories and meets an interesting young man sitting inside.
1. The Meeting

**A Bug's Life**

It was the same car. It had to be. The dent in the back fender, the result of a small incident he'd had with a parking meter years ago, was visible even from across the street. What were the odds that another yellow Bug carried the same scratches as the one he'd lost years ago. He'd loved that car. It was a relic from the past when he'd first obtained it, and it seemed, based on it's current location on the main drag of town, to still be chugging along despite its advanced age.

He suddenly wondered how many owners his baby had had through the years. Whoever hands it eventually fell into must have loved it considering it was still on the road. Not many original Bugs were left on the roadway nowadays. Of course, this was Storybrooke. He shouldn't have been surprised to find his baby sitting before him. This town, with the strange aura surrounding it, had a way of twisting him inside out, and this was only his first day inside the city limits.

As he stood staring at the Bug and pondering how he'd let a certain puppet talk him into returning with him to Storybrooke, he noticed a movement from within. Somebody was inside. Slowly, the driver's side window began to unwind as a guy with a badge hanging from his belt walked purposefully toward the open window and leaned in to talk to whoever was perched inside the car. From his unassuming spot across the street, he saw the stranger hold up his hand in what he assumed was the number five and then point to the diner a few doors down. Without another word, the guy with the badge turned and disappeared into the Storybrooke Police Station and left the car's occupant alone.

As he looked into the open window, he noticed it wasn't an adult at all, but a boy, much too young to drive, seated behind the wheel. Why would the lawman allow a young boy to remain behind the wheel of a car, he wondered silently as he began to step down from the curb and make his way over to his long lost baby. Not wanting to scare the boy who now rested his head out of the open window, he whistled as he lovingly ran his hand along the car's hood and came to stand before the boy.

Propping his hip against the front wheel, he said casually, "This is one fine car. They sure don't make 'em like this anymore."

The boy looked startled at he gazed up at the stranger before him. "Wwhho are you?"

"The name is Neal," he replied to the boy who, after his initial surprise was now on alert and full of suspicion. "And you are?"

"How'd you get into Storybrooke?" the young boy asked accusingly.

Thinking back on the advice his friend gave him as they entered town, Neal realized he'd have to tread lightly and not give out too much information.

"How do you know I'm not a resident?" he questioned the boy.

"If you were from Storybrooke," the boy answered, "I'd know you."

Looking down at the kid, who he was beginning to realize was smarter than he initially thought, Neal responded, "You don't know everyone in town, now do you?"

"Considering my mom is, or was, the mayor, I'd say yeah, I do know practically everyone," the young boy sharply retorted. "And you'd definitely know my name. So how did you get into town. Nobody comes to or leaves Storybrooke."

"I wouldn't say nobody," Neal answered with patronizing smile. "I bet you know at least one person who has visited this place." Not willing to voluntarily give out any information, the boy stared silently at the man leaning against the car.

"So what's the name? Or shall I guess it?" Neal asked. "You know names are important. Most people don't realize that. Names have power."

"Now you sound like Mr. Gold," the young boy commented, missing the slight shudder the stranger kept well hidden from watchful eyes. "He's always saying stuff like that."

"Yeah?" he asked. Realizing the kid hadn't revealed his name and wanting to get back to the subject at hand, the stranger began guessing , "Hmm. Is it Brian? No, Keith."

"Henry," the boy finally volunteered.

"Now that's a fine name," Neal commented. "Strong, regal. You're mom must have been a fan of English history."

"My mom didn't name me," the young Henry answered. "Well…my real mom didn't. My adoptive mom named me after her father."

"Ahh…," Neal responded. "Now that sounds like an interesting story."

"How did you get into Storybrooke? Why are you here?" Henry asked once again, ignoring the stranger's inquiry about his family history

"Let's just say I have a friend in town I came to visit," he answered.

Lifting his head to meet his stranger named Neal's eyes, Henry asked, "August?"

"No, it's October, not August." Neal retorted.

"I'm not talking about the month," Henry said. "You're here to see August."

"Did you just pull out some resident's name at random?" he asked the boy

"August is the only one besides my mom that can enter Storybrooke." Henry answered. "It has to be him. Which means you're somebody else, too."

"Kid, you're real corker," Neal smiled. "You know that. Here I am, I just came over to admire the car and now I'm getting the third degree from a pipsqueak. You should really be a detective when you get older.

Smiling up at the stranger, Henry answered, "Well, my mom is the Sheriff so it must run in the family."

"I thought you said your mom was the Mayor. She's the Sheriff, too?" Neal whistled, "She must be some woman."

"My real mom is the Sheriff, my adoptive mom is the Mayor." Henry answered.

"You really do have an interesting family life. And the man who was talking to you as I crossed the street, the one with the badge, he's your dad?" Neal asked. "You must have the lawman's gene's running through your blood."

"No," Henry smiled. "That's my Grandpa. He's acting Sheriff while my mom is….busy."

Laughing at his story, Neal continued, "Wow, kid, you really do have some stories to tell."

Seeing the boy's grin quickly transform into a frown, the stranger asked him, "What'd I say?"

"Nothing," Henry answered dejectedly. "It's just that my mom, my real mom, calls me _kid _all the time. She's been…occupied… for awhile now."

"And you're sitting here because…" Neal asked.

Henry responded, "I miss her. I like to sit in her car sometimes. It makes me feel less lonely."

"I hope you don't drive it around, too," he commented.

"I'm only eleven," Henry chuckled.

"Ahh," Neal responded. "I must admit, since you've obviously ferreted out my secret that I'm not native to Storybrooke, I'll confess another. I used to have a car _exactly _like this one once upon a time. I can understand your attachment to it?"

"Yeah?" Henry commented.. "Emma's had this thing for years, she said." Looking down at his watch, he noticed the time and hurriedly added, "Oh, I'm going to be late. I'm supposed to meet my Gramps at Granny's." Eager to get to the diner just a short distance away, Henry quickly jumped out of the car, not noticing the startled look that suddenly came over the newcomer's face.

Trying to recover from the shifting earth only he felt, Neal struggled to find a casual tone as he commented to young boy closing the door, "Nice to meet you Henry. Hope to see you around."

Turning back to the stranger, with a grin and a wave that was eerily familiar to Neal, Henry commented, "See ya. Tell August I said 'hi'."

Watching the boy race down the sidewalk and into the nearby diner, Neal closed his eyes as a million thoughts and feelings flooded through his system. The car, the name, the age all fit like pieces of some twisted puzzle as he fled down the street in search of the one ally he had in town…and hopefully some answers.

_I couldn't resist. I haven't abandoned my other stories, just real life throws stuff at you that you have to deal with. This little ficlet just had to be written before the next episode comes out and ruins my head cannon. Hope you liked it. _


	2. The Confrontation

_I didn't plan on expanding this. I kept playing out an August/Neal confrontation but decided to wait until after watching "Tallahassee" because I just couldn't let it go. I was surprised my story fit so well into the episode. _

**Chapter 2: The Confrontation**

"I didn't know" August replied as he stood before Neal, a literally wooden version of his former self. No need for the newcomer to explain his sudden fury, August immediately realized what the root of Neal's anger stemmed from.

"What do you mean you didn't know?" Neal demanded, punching the door in frustration. "It took me five minutes of being in town to figure it out, and you didn't know?"

"I didn't know until I showed up in Storybrooke a few months ago," August tried to explain. Rage coursed through Neal as he stood in complete silence. "You couldn't have crossed the border." August continued. "The curse was still unbroken."

"You could have at least sent word that I have a son. Instead, I get a postcard with one word on it," Neal seethed.

"Is that really news you want to hear on a postcard? 'Curse broken: And you have a son.'" August asked.

Looking up at the walking puppet with anger rolling off of him, Neal responded, "This isn't some joke. It's my life."

"I was going to tell you," August explained. "I didn't expect him to be the first person you met in Storybrooke."

Collapsing in a desk chair, Neal demanded, "Tell me." When August finally began his story, Neal never thought it would be with a phrase that brought back memories of his own childhood.

"I'm a coward," August began his tale. "Do you know the tale of Pinocchio?" he asked as he pointed to himself. At Neal's slight nod, he continued, "When I was turned into a real boy, our raft had washed upon shore. My father wept as he held my unconscious wooden body until the Blue Fairy appeared and transformed me. She brought me back. Gave life back to me. But there were conditions. She said to me, 'Be brave, truthful, and unselfish. As long as you do that, you will always remain a boy.'"

"Evidently that didn't work out," Neal said snappishly as he stared at the wooden man before him.

"No, it didn't," August agreed. "I tried. But 'to err, is human' and I'm as human as the rest of you. I may not have been a puppet anymore, but I still had strings attached." Pausing, August moved across the room and sat on the bed, preparing to tell the rest of his tale. "When the curse hit, we were living in Snow White's and Prince Charming's castle. Father was a member of their war council. I would sit at his side as they talked and made plans about the kingdom. This world may know some of our stories, but they're nothing like what really happened. There were many enemies to the kingdom, but the most evil was Snow White's stepmother, the Evil Queen Regina. I told you about the curse and Regina sending everyone from that world to this one. Destined to never age and time never to move forward.

"Yeah," Neal said begrudgingly as he looked down at the floor, trying to contain his anger.

"But I didn't tell you everything," August admitted.

"What does this have to do with the fact that you knew I had a son and kept that information from me," Neal demanded, becoming impatient for August to get to the point.

"I have to tell you the whole story. The curse, Emma's part, Henry. Everything. It all ties together," August implored. "Please hear me out."

"Go on," Neal said.

"After the Evil Queen announced her plans to curse everyone, Charming and Snow, who was expecting, visited Rumplestiltskin in the mines. He informed them that nothing could stop the curse. It was coming. Regina would be successful. However, he also said that Snow's baby would be the key to breaking it all on her twenty-eighth year."

"Rumplestiltskin?" Neal interrupted and shifted in his chair. With a hoarse voice he asked, "I thought he was interested in firstborns and gold."

"His tale is much larger than anything this world has ever heard. And more terrifying. That's just the tip of the iceberg. While Regina manipulated and yearned to seek revenge, Rumplestiltskin got what he wanted by making deals. People so desperate that they called to him for help. But it was like making a deal with the devil. Somehow Charming was able to trick him and held him prisoner in the mines."

"Why go to him for help?" Neal asked, not realizing how invested he was in the answer.

"Because Rumplestiltskin was the only one who was as powerful as Regina. I told you that Emma and I were transported to this world before the curse hit. Preparations were made and the Blue Fairy presented the idea that the last magical tree in the Enchanted Forest could be made into a wardrobe that would save one person from the curse so that they would be able to come and break it. The plan was for Snow to be transported. She'd have the baby in this world outside of the curse and raise Emma until it was time to return, but plans changed. Snow gave birth as the curse struck and Emma was sent by herself."

"So how do you figure in all of this?" Neal demanded. "How is it that you, a kid at the time of the curse was able to escape with her and be Emma's guardian angel."

"When my father was approached by the Blue Fairy, he made a deal," he explained. "See, the Blue Fairy lied to the Council. The tree was able to take two people, not one. My father demanded that I be sent, also. To be saved. He was scared I would be turned back into wood and lost to him if I was cursed along with him and everyone else. I didn't want to be separated, but the Blue Fairy agreed and I went into the wardrobe and was transported to just outside the town lines. Emma came through the portal moments later. Before I was sent, I was tasked with taking care of Emma and making sure she fulfilled her destiny. A seven year old boy, in a land unlike any I'd ever been to, responsible for a tiny baby."

"So what happened?" Neal asked.

"The authorities picked us up and we were sent into the foster care system. It was rough," August explained, full of emotion as he tried to continue. "I tried to watch out over her for a few months, but then a group of kids decided to make a run for it. They told me Emma would be adopted since she was a baby. Everyone wanted a baby. So I left her. I ran away with the other foster kids."

"You left her there," Neal said accusingly.

"I didn't know she'd fallen through the cracks. As I got older, I searched for her and finally found her with you. Do you realize she was a teenager, just out of the system when she got involved with you?"

Neal was silent as he began to process the story August was telling him.

"What a life she had. Embarking on a life of petty crime," August replied. "I had to get her back to her destiny. So many people were counting on her. That's when I confronted you and told you about the curse."

"When did you find out she had a baby?" Neal asked.

"I swear," August pleaded. "I didn't know until a few months ago when I rode into Storybrooke. After we parted eleven years ago, I fled once again. As far as I could get from Storybrooke and anything to do with magic and curses. I'm not proud of that. I ignored my duty once again. I ended up traveling the world. However, the past always comes back to get you. Last year, I started to get a cramp in my leg and knew instantly that Emma was in Storybrooke. I didn't live up to the qualities I was supposed to. I was cowardly, a liar and selfish. I was staring to turn back into a puppet."

"So what lured her back, after all those years, if you weren't there," he asked.

"It was Henry, actually," August answered. "Somehow, and I don't know how, but he ended up here and was adopted by Regina, the mayor. Last year he searched the internet for his birth mother and somehow found her. Emma was living in Boston and he went by himself to meet her. She brought him back home and decided to stay for awhile after meeting Regina. She eventually took the job of sheriff after the previous one died to stay close to Henry."

"Wait a minute," Neal said as he his mind rapidly flew over the names in the story August had just told him. "Regina. As in the Evil Queen? My son was raised by an evil sorceress?"

"Yeah," August admitted. "And somehow that kid figured everything out. His teacher, Mary Margaret, who was actually Snow, gave him a storybook and he started noticing things and putting all the clues together. Eventually, Henry began to notice as he got older what was happening and put everything together. Everyone who was cursed had no idea who they really were or that time stood still. Not until a few weeks ago when Emma broke the curse. He's one smart kid."

"So who has my son now? Henry mentioned something about his mother being gone and living with his grandfather?" Neal asked.

"He must be staying with David," August answered. "Emma's dad. Prince Charming. I've been trying not to show myself, but I've heard that she and Mary Margaret, er…her mother, Snow White, disappeared the day after the curse was broken. They got sucked down a portal. They must not have come back yet."

"And Regina?"

"All I know is that Regina is swearing off magic. That's just from the little whispers I've heard as I've skulked around. With the curse broken, I guess not much has changed other than everyone has two sets of memories now."

"How did Emma finally break this curse?" Neal asked.

"It wasn't from me," August admitted. "I tried everything I could to get her to believe in the curse and magic, but she thought I was indulging Henry. I even showed her my leg, but she refused to see anything. It wasn't until Regina tried to poison Emma with a sleeping curse that somehow Henry fell to that finally convinced Emma that magic was real."

"My son was cursed!" Neal shouted as he jumped from his desk chair."

"Emma came to me for help, but it was too late. I was turning fully back into wood before her eyes," August explained. "It was only after the curse was broken and magic was returned that I woke back up. As you see me now, once again a puppet."

"A puppet made of wood that I should burn," Neal said angrily.

"As you should," August agreed. "I've done so much I'm ashamed of. I can't even face my father now with the fact that I'm once again a puppet. I didn't live up to my deal."

"All magic comes with a price," Neal muttered too quietly for August to hear.

Standing up and walking toward Neal, August said, "I did hear it whispered about that Emma woke Henry with True Love's Kiss. They thought he was dying and when she kissed him the curse was lifted. Everyone got their memories back."

"And you awoke and magic was flowing through the town," Neal supplied cattily.

"Actually, no," answered August. "Its been whispered that Rumplestiltskin somehow brought magic to Storybrooke. It was only after magic was brought into town that I had awoken."

Turning around, August didn't notice the shudder that Neal tried to hide as he walked toward the room's only window.

"So Emma's gone, the town is full of evil sorcerers with magic, and my son is staying with his grandfather. Is that about it?"

"Yeah," August supplied.

"How am I going to explain my presence in this town," Neal asked. "The kid was suspicious immediately, and there are guards patrolling the borders. What is everyone else going to think?"

"Tell them the truth," advised August. "Tell them you're an old friend of Emma's. Tell them you're a friend of mine. Let them draw their own conclusions. Or don't tell them anything. They're going to find out the truth eventually when Emma returns. You already got past Granny when you got a room. She's not as docile as she looks."

"You know what," Neal responded as he looked angrily at August's wooden form. "I'm giving you a reprieve for right now. But I'm still furious with you."

"As you should be," August held his head in shame. "I don't know what I'd do if I was in your position."

"First thing I'm going to do is have another talk with my boy," Neal declared.

"You're not going to tell him the truth, are you?" August asked. "He let it slip once that Emma told him his father was dead. You can't just go up to him and say you're his dad."

"Humph. Dead am I?" Neal answered, "No, I'm not going to tell him the truth right away, but I do need to talk to him."

"Just be careful," August advised. "Henry's been through a lot. He's a astounding kid, but he's been though more than most people go through in a lifetime.

"I will," Neal complied. When he'd stepped across the border into Storybrooke, Neal knew changes awaited him. He'd been expecting family struggles, he just didn't realize this would be one of them.

_So writing this I let go of a lot of my anger about August. But there is still a bit of confrontation left for him. Neal still doesn't know he took off with the cash and Emma doesn't know all August did to screw up her life. I guess this is a full story now. I planned on only a one shot. Don't know long it's going to be right now. But I think next will be Neal going out into Storybrooke and exploring a bit and meeting a few key people._

_I appreciate all the favorite-ing you guys are doing. Please review, too. I love reviews. They make me smile and write faster. _


	3. A Suprising Homecoming

**Chapter 3: A Surprising Homecoming**

There was a quietness about Storybrooke that seemed unnatural to Neal despite having just arriving earlier in the week. Although he was a stranger and kept mostly to himself, he'd heard whispers that something was wrong with the town's acting sheriff. He'd not been seen in the previous forty-eight hours and there was an odd amount of activity happening inside Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. Since both their previous sheriff and former queen disappeared nearly a month ago, the residents of Storybrooke were becoming skittish. The fact that they hadn't seen their former prince out and about scared them even more.

It took everything Neal had not to seek out Henry. The thought of Regina or someone worse watching over his son, if it was true there was something wrong with the prince, concerned him deeply. The only thing preventing him from revealing all was the fact that the few glimpses he'd seen of Henry in the street proved he was being well cared for at the moment. In spite of his feelings, Neal realized that confronting Henry with the truth was not the ideal thing to do at this time if something really was wrong with his grandfather. So Neal kept a silent eye on the comings and goings of his son and avoided conversing too much with the curious townspeople.

Avoiding conversation didn't mean total isolation, though. It was currently Neal's empty stomach the prompted him to enter Granny's Diner. It wasn't his first time in the place, and while the proprietress had made a few veiled attempts to inveigle information out of him, he'd so far managed to reveal little about himself.

"Here you go," Granny said as she placed Neal's order in front of him. He was seated in a carefully selected corner booth, situated so he could avoiding the immediate notice of most of the patrons in the diner.

"Thank you," he replied, glancing up to see an attractive brunette walk through the door and call a greeting to the woman serving him. As he began to eat his meal, Neal couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation between the owner and the brunette at the counter.

"So what will you be having today, Belle?"

"Can I have a grilled ham and cheese and a soda to go?" Neal heard Belle inquire. "I'm trying to get the library completed before it's 'Grand Opening' so I'm just going to work through lunch."

"You're working too hard," Granny admonished. With a bit of disdain, she added, "You'd think that man of yours would flick his fingers and it would be done."

"Granny," Belle responded. Neal could hear a bit of a warning in her tone to the older woman. "I like doing the work. Besides, I'm learning so much about this world. It's been so fascinating."

"I tend to forget you don't have any memories of Storybrooke," Granny answered, sadness laced in her voice. Neal wondered why, in a town of cursed people where it appeared that everyone had two sets of memories in their head, the young woman standing at the counter did not. Was she a stranger to town like he was?

"Yes, well…" Belle trailed off. Trying to change the subject, she asked, "Where is Ruby?"

"She's watching Henry at the moment." Neal's senses came to sudden alert.

"Has something really happened to David?" Belle asked worriedly.

"And here I thought you'd have more information than I do," Granny answered as she filled a to-go cup and handed it to the young beauty.

"I know Rumplestiltskin was working with David and Regina to try to get his wife and daughter back, but he's been busy and I haven't heard anything since."

"Now that's a pairing. Surprised the whole town hasn't been blown to smithereens this time," Granny remarked. As she went into the kitchen to finish the order, she added, "How a sweet thing like you could be tied up with The Dark One, I'll never understand."

So the beauty was involved with Rumplestilskin, Neal silently pondered as he turned his attention back to his meal. He'd yet to encounter the infamous man face-to-face in Storybrooke, but he'd glimpsed him from afar and heard whispers. He knew from talk that his alter-ego, Mr. Gold, practically owned the town in addition to being the proprietor of the local pawnshop…and was feared in both worlds. The possibility that the pretty young girl waiting for her lunch was involved with the older man was perplexing.

As Neal finished his meal, Granny returned from the back with the girl's order. After exchanging "good-byes", the girl known as Belle made her way out of the diner and across the intersection to a dilapidated building. Even from his vantage point, Neal could read the large sign pronouncing it "Storybrooke Library" hanging over the double doors. A librarian, and a very young one at that, was the last person he'd expect to be entangled with what he knew of the infamous Mr. Gold.

"Anything else," Granny asked, turning his attention back to the woman before him.

"No thanks. Just the check." Setting his napkin down, Neal moved to follow the older woman to the counter to pay his bill. As he stood at the cash register, he could tell that she was trying hold back from interrogating her new border.

"You know," Granny commented. "We don't get many visitors in Storybrooke."

"So you said before, Mrs. Lucas," he answered.

Rolling her eyes, Granny responded, "Call me 'Granny'. I haven't been called Mrs. Lucas in years. Even Gold acknowledges me as 'Granny'."

"I'll keep that in mind," Neal answered, smirking slightly at her comment and ignoring her not so secretive inquiry. "Have a nice day."

"You, also." As he pulled his jacket on, she added, "Oh, and Mr. Cassidy, please tell August to get in touch with his father. I hate to see a father and son separated from each other."

Neal's head snapped as he looked into the older woman's eyes. Did she know something? Had August been talking out of turn? His instant panic receded as he realized she was just referring to August and his father. Having no idea how to respond, Neal nodded his head to the older woman and headed toward the door only to have it almost knock him in the face by a short fellow rushing into the diner.

"They're back," the man shouted.

"Emma and Mary Margaret?" Granny asked with a mixture of relief and excitement.

"Yeah," the stranger answered, clearly exhausted from his mad dash to herald the news. "They're over at Mr. Gold's right now, but they're heading over for a celebration."

Neal heard Granny exclaim, "Oh my goodness," as he hurried out of the restaurant and around the corner to sequester himself once again in his lodgings. He was both eager and terrified to see Emma once again, but immediately realized this was not the time nor the place for any kind of reunion. He just hoped Granny and Henry were distracted enough not to mention his name before all hell broke loose.

_This chapter was like pulling teeth. I knew what I wanted to write, but it was a struggle the whole way. It was supposed to be only half of a chapter, but the second half, which came out much easier, grew and grew and I had to break it up. But don't fret, I will be posting the other chapter very soon because I have it all done and waiting in the queue. _


	4. Calling in the Favor

**Chapter 4: Calling in the Favor **

The next night, the Charming clan sat together enjoying a quiet meal. After all the celebration and excitement, it was a relief to have some time alone with family.

"You'd better make sure your homework is finished before bedtime," David warned Henry as he moved to clear off the table. "You have school tomorrow."

"My, my. Don't you sound parental," Mary Margaret commented softly as she assisted her husband. "Be careful not to step on Emma's toes," she advised quietly as she pushed up her sleeves to avoid getting them in the dishwater. "I know you've been taking care of Henry, but let Emma have some responsibility now."

"It's kind of early for bedtime, isn't it?" Emma inquired, not noticing the conversation her parents were currently engaged in over by the sink.

"We go to the stables before school," Henry informed his mother. "David says I have to take care of my horse every morning so we get up before everyone else in Storybrooke it seems."

"So that's where you two ran off together this morning," Mary Margaret replied. "And I thought you guys were just out having breakfast and letting me and Emma sleep in."

Henry soon filled his mother and grandmother in on all the responsibilities that came with owning a horse. As he was just getting warmed up, the young boy was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Wonder who that could be?" Emma inquired as she stood to answer the door. "Were you guys expecting anyone?"

Both David and Mary Margaret shook their heads no as Emma called out to visitor awaiting in the hall, "Who is it?"

"It's Mr. Gold," said a voice from the other side of the door.

"What does he want?" Mary Margaret whispered to her daughter as Emma turned to open the door.

"Mr. Gold," Emma greeted as he entered the apartment carrying an antique black traveling box in his free hand. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get to enjoy your little celebration last night."

"Out casting curses and brewing potions?" Emma asked.

"Something like that," Gold replied. "But we'll get to that later."

"What is it you want, Gold?" Emma asked impatiently. "I know this isn't a social call."

"You'd be correct about that," he responded. "Actually, I've come on a bit of business."

"There's no business I want to do with you," she replied.

"Oh," Gold informed her. "That's where you're wrong. Don't you remember that little favor you owe me? It's time to pay the piper."

"Okay, Gold, just tell me what you want," Emma demanded. "I've already literally slayed a dragon for you. What else is there to do?"

"I need you to find someone for me," he answered.

"So you can do what?" Emma inquired. "Set another wraith upon them?"

"Did something happen to Belle again," David asked, concern evident in his voice.

"No, no," Gold answered. "Belle is fine. This is a different matter." Turning back, he looked Emma in the eye and asked, " I need you to find someone very important to me. I need you to find my son."

Nothing else could have quieted the apartment more than Gold's pronouncement.

"You have a son?" Emma asked. "But I thought you were Rumplestiltskin. I don't remember him having any children in the story."

"Haven't you learned not to believe all the versions of fairytales from this world yet," Gold said impatiently. "Yes, I have a son. I'm not going to go into the whole story at the moment. We had a deal and I'm calling in my favor."

"Wait," Emma asked in confusion. "How did he get out of Storybrooke if nobody can enter or leave?"

"He was never in Storybrooke," Gold informed her. "That's why I need you to find him."

Emma sat down as she tried to process the information swirling in her head. "The curse," she said, putting the pieces together. "You created the curse. You brought everyone to this world so you could find you son."

"Actually," Gold corrected Emma. "Regina enacted the curse. She brought you to Storybrooke. But yes, I did create it with the intention of finding my son."

"You can't leave, can you?" Emma deduced. "If you do, then you lose all of your memories of him. Isn't that true?" David had brought Emma and Mary Margaret up to date about the escapade of the dwarves and the spray-painted line now decorating the border of Storybrooke.

"It was true, Miss Swan," Gold informed her. "Until last night."

"You broke the border curse." David said in amazement.

"That explains how the new guy got into town," Henry announced as if solving a major puzzle that had been plaguing him.

"What new guy?" Snow asked her grandson in confusion.

"There was a stranger in town the other day," Henry explained. "I've never seen him and he had no idea who I was so I assumed he was a friend of August."

"Seems this town is getting full of people we've never seen before," Emma commented, giving Gold a level stare.

"Ah," Gold commented. "So David has informed you of our new Librarian. Belle was always in Storybrooke. I just had no clue since Regina had her locked away in the hospital. That is after she informed me she was dead."

In addition to telling the ladies about the Sneezy losing his memory of his other life, David also including the addition of Mr. Gold's newly acquired friend. Trying to steer the conversation away from Regina and what she'd done, David remarked, "I guess we're just going to have to get used to outsiders coming in to town now."

"He couldn't have gotten in because the curse is broken. I only tested it last night," Gold said, wondering how an outsider was able even find Storybrooke. "And as far as I know, it only works for me."

"I wonder how he got in then?" Henry wondered.

"One problem at a time, kid," Emma answered, hugging her son close to her. Turning to Gold, she continued, "I've just gotten back with my son. Why would I want to leave once again on another mission?"

"Because you owe me a favor and my deals are never broken," he informed the sheriff. "Plus, you're the best person for the job. Magic will only take us so far. You've said yourself that finding people is what you do. You're background is perfect for the task ahead of us."

"Us?" Emma questioned.

"Yes, us. I'm coming, too. I've waited forever to reunited with him once again. Something I think you can relate to, Miss Swan." Gold replied, trying to appeal parent-to-parent. You might not approve of my methods, but I did it all for my son."

Emma hated having her back against the wall, but she could see no way out of the current situation. "Okay," she said, exhaustedly. "What do we have to do?"

"Emma," Henry cried. "You can't leave me again. You just got back."

"Henry, calm down," she responded. "We don't even know the specifics yet." Turning to Gold she asked, "What am I even supposed to begin with? I can't track someone without at least a little bit of information."

"Well," Gold began to explain. "I've got his cloak…"

"How am I supposed to track someone with a cloak from the Enchanted Forest?" Emma interrupted. "I need names, credit card receipts, tax records."

"Sorry, I have none of those things, but I do have this," Gold replied as he opened the small ancient black box he had brought with him and pulled out a small bottle containing a glowing liquid."

"What is that?" Snow asked worriedly, burrowing into her husband's embrace.

"It's a locating potion," David supplied, surprising everyone in the room except Gold with his answer.

"Correct," confirmed Mr. Gold.

"How would you know what a locating potion is?" Emma asked, looking at David in shock.

"Because I went to Gold after you went through the portal. I wanted to find the owner of the hat to see if he knew how to make it work again."

"Jefferson," Emma whispered as she exchanged a knowing look with her mother.

"So you know him?" David asked, raising his eyebrow questioningly.

"Long story," Mary Margaret replied. "Tell you later."

Filing that bit of information away for later, David continued, "I went to Gold to see if he had anything like the ring to be able to find the hat's owner. He gave me the potion. I sprinkled it on the hat and it led me right to Jefferson. Only he had no idea how to get it to work again."

"Okay," Emma declared, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm confused. Rings, locating potions. I'm lost."

"Let's just say that I have the ability to turn objects into their own little tracking devices," Gold supplied.

"He enchanted my mother's…er, now it would be your mother's ring so I was able to find Snow after Regina poisoned her back in the Enchanted Forest. That's how I knew Gold might be able to do it once again."

Turning to Gold, Emma asked in confusion, "If you're able to do that then why do you need me?"

"Because magic works differently here, Miss Swan," he explained. "I've tried it myself, and it won't work for me. I was hoping that you'd get a different result." From his black box, Gold pulled out a piece of brown cloth and sprinkled the bottle's contents on the fabric. Holding the ancient cloth out to Emma, he explained, "This is Bae's cloak. Can you sense anything?"

Tentatively, Emma took the cloak from Gold's hands as everyone waited with baited breath. When nothing happened, she looked up at Gold. "Sorry, noth…," but was distracted from her reply by a low vibration the cloak softly began to emit.

"What's happening?" Gold asked eagerly.

"I can feel a small vibration," she explained.

Reaching out for the fabric, Gold responded, "Hand it to me." After Emma handed the cloak back to him, Gold replied, "Nothing. I feel nothing."

Taking the cloak once more off of Gold, she said, "I can still feel it. It's very faint, but it's there."

"The vibration will get stronger the closer you get to Bae," Gold explained.

"So what does this 'Bae' look like," Mary Margaret asked.

"Last I saw him, he was fourteen years old," Gold responded. "But I'm not sure how old he is in this land. Here is a drawing of him," he said, handing a rough illustration of a young boy to Emma. "He has similar coloring to me, brown eyes, but his hair is darker."

"That's really helpful," Emma said in exasperation. "That could describe half the population. Even Henry fits that description."

"What if he's deceased?" Mary Margaret asked tentatively as she gazed down at the picture Emma handed her.

"The curse was designed to send us to where Baelfire is located. Not in the past, not where his body is, but where he's located. The potion wouldn't have reacted to the cloak if he's gone."

"That narrows things down a lot," Emma replied, not even trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "So we're looking for a white male with brown hair and brown eyes who could be between the age of fourteen to one hundred four years old. Seems an easy task."

"One I'm sure you're up for," Gold sallied back, gaining back some of his snark.

"So when do you want to go on this little adventure," Emma asked.

"Tomorrow, hopefully," Gold answered. "I've got some preparations to take care of, but I'll be in contact with you tomorrow morning to let you know."

"Here, take it," Emma said, setting the cloak on the table as Gold repacked the potion bottle into his black box. "I don't want to be accused of destroying it if something should happen to it." As he reached down to put the cloak back in the box, it fell into a puddle on the floor.

"Here you are, Mr. Gold," Henry said as he reached down and picked up the cloak. Looking up in shock, Henry turned to his mother, clutching the fabric. "Mom! I can feel it!"

"Looks like the boy inherited something else from you," Gold retorted.

"I can feel it!" Henry exclaimed. "But you said it was just vibrating." Turning to Mary Margaret, he said, "Grams, remember when we learned in class about magnets. Those big magnets you had us hold. That's what it feels like."

Four sets of eyes immediately turned in Gold's direction, looking for him for some kind of explanation. "It shouldn't be doing that, yet," he explained. "Unless…"

"Unless he's nearby," David responded. "The ring grew brighter the closer I got to Snow. When I reached her, it could have lit up the night sky."

"Hand that back to me," Emma demanded. Taking the cloak off of her son, she pulled on her coat and headed for the door.

"Wait," she heard her mother cry out behind her. "Last time we followed a magical object it trapped us back home. We're going, too."

Emma was standing outside the apartment building with the cloak in her hands as the others finally caught up with her. "The vibrations are stronger, but I can't tell which direction to go."

"Give it to me," Henry said excitedly

"No, Henry." Emma demanded. "I'm not letting you do this."

"Please, mom," he implored. "I know I can help."

"I said no," Emma replied, emphatically.

"I'm the one who brought you to Storybrooke. I'm one who told you about the curse." Henry begged, "Please let me help with this."

Emma began to feel herself crack under the stares of everyone. "Okay," she relented. "But you're only to grab a corner. I'm holding it."

Henry excitedly took a corner of the blanket and concentrated on the direction it was pulling him. "That way," he said, pointing toward the center of town.

Standing at main intersection of town, the motley crew stood awaiting the next words from the young boy leading the way. "Not again," Emma commented offhandedly. "Regina can't have another one locked away in a basement somewhere."

"Emma," Mary Margaret warned as she started at Gold. "I wouldn't joke at a time like this."

"Sadly, I wasn't joking," Emma replied, feeling the vibrations grow stronger as they trekked through the center of Storybrooke.

"Over there," Henry pointed. "I can feel it pulling. Toward Granny's."

"The Inn!" cried Emma, as the group made their way across the street.

"Wait." David called out. "We can't go barging into the Inn. Even if you are technically the Law."

"August," Mary Margaret called out as if she had an epiphany. "It has to be August."

"No," Gold responded with sneer in his voice. "Definitely not August."

"But it fits," she continued. "He showed up after Emma, he has brown hair. It has to be August."

"No, Mary Margaret," Emma responded. "August is Pinocchio. He can't be Gold's son."

"How is he Pinocchio? He was a little boy when the curse was enacted. And a red-head," Snow asked in confusion.

"Another long story that will have to wait for another day," Emma explained. "I can't go into it now, but he's absolutely not Gold's son."

"Then who can it be?" Mary Margaret asked.

"The new guy!" David exclaimed. "Henry mentioned him earlier. He showed up a few days ago."

"What's his name?" Gold demanded.

"I don't know. I never met him." Turning to Henry, David asked, "Henry, do you remember his name?"

"I think it was Phil," Henry answered, screwing up his face trying to remember the conversation. "No, it may have been Bill."

"Bill is close to Baelfire," David replied, looking to Gold as if he had any more answers than the rest of them.

"I think we should talk to Granny first before we start searching all the rooms," Emma responded. Turning to her parents, Emma said, "Why don't you guys return back home. Take Henry with you."

"No way," Henry cried. "I've gotten you this far. I want to see how it ends."

"Henry," Emma warned.

"Let the boy stay," Gold replied.

"Come on, then," Emma relented as she walked up the steps to Granny's Bed and Breakfast and opened the front door.

"Granny," shouted Emma as the door banged closed behind her parents who were the last to enter the entryway.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs announced the arrival of the person in question. "What is going on?" the older woman asked as she stared at the group assembled before her.

"Granny, we need some information. It's very important." Emma informed

"What is it? Anything for you," she answered, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

"It's about your new boarder," Mary Margaret cut in, just as eager as the others to find out who exactly was Mr. Gold's son.

"Quiet fellow," Granny replied. "Won't talk much. I haven't been able to get much out of him at all. From what I've assumed, he's a friend of August's. "

"What room is he is in?" Emma demanded.

"I put him in Room Seven," she answered. "Is he in trouble? Has he done something?" Granny asked worriedly.

"No, he hasn't done anything," Emma reassured her. "Do you by chance have a name?"

"Yes," she answered. "He signed in as a Mr. Cassidy."

Silence hung in the air and the color began to drain from Emma's face. "Emma, are you okay," her mother asked, but she could near nothing but the pounding of her heart accelerating in her chest.

Breaking out of her brief trance, Emma bounded down the hallway and up the stairs, not bothering to care about the people she'd left behind. Suddenly, she was standing before a door with the number seven emblazoned before her.

Before she realized she was doing it, Emma began pounding on the door and screaming, "Open this door…now!" She didn't need to issue a second demand before the door before her was wrenched open to reveal a sight she'd never thought she'd see again in her life.

"Hello, Neal."

"Hello, Emma," Neal responded as he stared into the face he'd last seen eleven years earlier. He didn't have long to linger on her before he heard the pounding of footsteps and a small crowd assembled behind her.

"You know him?" Mary Margaret asked in confusion.

But Mary Margaret's inquiry was pushed aside by the sound of a cane echoing behind her and a voice Neal never thought he'd hear again in his lifetime call out, "Bae?"

_Dum, dum, dum…_

_I hope you guys liked seeing things on the other side of the Emma/Neal storyline. Fireworks should really start flying next chapter, which I've already started writing. I hope I didn't alienate any of my readers by making Neal be Bae, but I've had clues in early chapters so it shouldn't have been a big shock. Hope to have the next chapter up sometime this week. Thanks to everyone for their support. _


	5. Questions and Answers

**Chapter 5: Questions and Answers**

"Bae?" Gold inquired as he gazed upon the man standing inside Granny's small boarding room. After the fiasco with August, he was hesitant about jumping right in and make assumptions about someone's identity. But the man standing before him was definitely his son. The eyes, the hair, all of the coloring was just as remembered. And he felt it in his bones this time. With August, he was so desperate to get Bae back that he ignored the little signs warning him that it was an imposter. This time was different. "My boy!"

"I'm nobody's boy," the stranger declared to the group assembled, his eyes remaining on the one face he'd last seen eleven years prior.

"Emma, who is this?" Mary Margaret asked once again.

"Out!" Emma commanded to everyone behind her.

"But, Emma…," David began but was interrupted once again by his daughter.

"Enough time for questions later," Emma answered. "For now, please, take Henry home."

Emma was glad as her parents relented without further questioning. Pulling Henry away, they backed out of the room toward the stairs. However, there was still one other person standing in the doorway who appeared not to be going anywhere.

With his expensive suit and ornate cane, the man standing before Neal projected an aura more impressive than a man his size should have. He wasn't the father who fed and nurtured him as a young boy, but he was neither the monster that terrified his former village. Although the features were similar to his once beloved Papa, Neal didn't know the stranger standing before him.

"Bae?" Gold said once again, not knowing what to say to the grown man his son had become.

"You heard the lady," Neal replied, trying to keep the anger and hurt from his voice. "Out."

"But Bae…" he pleaded.

"My name is Neal," he answered the older man. "And any conversation you want to have will have to wait."

"Fine," Gold relented. He knew there had been a good possibility that Bae would be unreceptive to a reunion. Instead of pushing the issue, he realized that walking away for the moment was the best step to take, although it went against every instinct he possessed.

Emma didn't take her eyes off of Neal as she heard footsteps receding and a door close behind her. "What are you doing here, Neal?"

"This," he answered as he opening the drawer in the nearby bedside table and handed it over to her. "I received it a few weeks ago."

Emma stared down at the Storybrooke postcard proclaiming one word, _Broken_, across the back. "How did this reach you? There's no address or postage?"

"How do you think, Emma?" he asked, surprised at her disbelief.

"And you just decided to follow this," she asked, holding up the postcard. "Why did you come here? I haven't see you in eleven years and then you show up in the last place you're supposed to be."

"Let's just say I have unfinished business."

"Well, settle whatever unfinished business you have with Gold, but leave me and my family alone."

"Your family," Neal pondered. "You always wanted to find your parents, didn't you? Looks like you finally got your wish."

"And it appears the opposite is true with you," she countered, setting the postcard down on the desk beside her. "You never would talk about your family. Now I realize why."

"Relationships between parents and their children are a delicate thing sometimes, don't you think?"

"You don't know the half of it," Emma commented. Realizing finally what the implication of him being in town actually meant, she added. "Or maybe you do."

"Oh, I think you know more than I do exactly what's going on. Not very many people are eager to open up to a stranger. Evidently, this town gets few visitors. Odd, isn't it? However, I did get to talk to an informative young man by the name of Henry. Bright boy. Very inquisitive. I believe he's your son." Pausing, Neal looked Emma in the eye and added, "Or more specifically, our son."

"Don't you go anywhere near Henry." Emma warned, her voice turning to ice. "He's my son, not yours." Fear crept into her heart along with a feeling of sympathy for Regina. She's just gotten Henry and here was someone standing before her ready to stake a claim to what she held most dear. Was this how Regina felt when she'd first appeared in town?

"It only took five minutes, Emma," Neal said. "Five minutes of talking to that boy before realizing that he was mine. Do you think I don't know how to add up the numbers?"

"You want to talk numbers," Emma said angrily. "Let's talk numbers. How about we start with _eighteen_, the age I was when I got out of prison. Or _two_, the number of years I spent in Tallahassee waiting for any sign, any glimpse, of your sorry ass and plotting my revenge." Emma didn't realize that tears had begun to form until she raised her hand to instinctively brush them away. "Here's a big one. Let's talk _eleven_, the number of months I got for a crime you committed. The…"

"The age of our son," he quietly added.

"You leave Henry out of this," Emma retorted, pointing a finger at Neal. "You lost any right to him when you disappeared that night."

"Emma, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" she demanded. "That you left a teenager to take the fall for your sins?"

"Just let me explain," he pleaded. "That night, I thought I was being followed. I could feel someone closing in behind me. At the time I thought it was the cops, so I ran. Eventually, he caught up with me."

"Who is 'he'"? Emma said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"He said his name was August," Neal supplied, sitting down on the bed. "He said he had been searching for you for awhile. He claimed he knew you as a baby and was asked to look after you, but you disappeared out of the foster system. Called himself your 'guardian angel'." He paused, collecting his breath and thoughts. "And then he asked if I believed in magic? "

Reeling from news that August had had contact with Neal years before, Emma exclaimed, "And you just believed this stranger? Some crazy person spouting off about magic. People just don't do that."

"You don't understand," he explained as he fingered the quilt on the bed. "He knew things. Private things. Things I had kept so repressed that even I had begun to forget." Staring out with glazed eyes, Neal retreated back to a different time and place. "I never did answer him, but he began his tale of a curse anyway. He spoke of an evil queen, dethroned, who'd unleashed her revenge upon the land, sending everyone to place where nobody would have their happy endings for eternity. He told of how the kingdom tried to fight back, but that nothing could be done to stop her. And then he mentioned how a child was prophesized by the entrapped Rumplestiltskin as the only one who could one day break the curse. How _you _were that child, the one chosen to save everyone. That you had to do it alone."

"Why does everyone think they have a right to decide my fate," Emma shouted, letting all of her anger and resentment out on the man sitting before her.

"I knew what you were like back then, Emma. You were so very young, but already had this armor surrounding you. You would never have believed anything."

"But nobody gave me the chance to believe," she retorted, falling back to sit on the edge of the desk.

"If I had to do it all over again, I would have told you everything. Ignored August's declaration and screwed the consequences. But at the time all I could think of was that my father was involved somehow and it had to be stopped."

"So Gold really is your father."

"Some form of him once was," he answered, rubbing his hand over his face. "When I heard his name mentioned, I knew he had to be stopped at all costs. I know August said that this Regina had enacted the curse, but there had to be some major dark magic behind it, and if Rumplestiltskin was around then he had his hand in it. So I listened to him and believed him when he said what needed done. He convinced me that since you were a minor they'd go easy on you and it would be clean break you needed to fulfill your destiny. I just went right along with it even though I knew you'd hate me for it. I knew the money and the car would never make up for what I did, but it was the only consolation I could think of at the time. A way to start you off on a new life after you got out."

"What money are you talking about?"

"What do you mean 'what money'?" Neal asked in confusion. "The twenty-thousand dollars I gave you after pawning the rest of the watches. "

"I don't know what you're talking about, but all I got was an envelope mailed from Phuket with a set of car keys in it."

"August. I should have burned his wooden ass when I had the chance," Neal groaned, closing his eyes. "I pawned the rest of the watches and got twenty thousand dollars for them. Then I went and got legit plates and registration for the car. August and I met up after you got sentenced and let me know what was going on. I gave the keys and the money to him to pass on to you so you'd have something to start out on when you got out."

"You trusted Pinocchio, a boy known for lying and deceiving, with twenty thousand dollars and expected him to do the right thing? A guy that you know already did a crappy job of being my 'guardian angel'".

"Yeah, well, we all make mistakes." Neal silently wondered what might have been had August really given the money to Emma. Would she have kept Henry? Was it all part of the curse and destined to happen no matter what? "If you had gotten the money, would you have kept Henry?"

"So you know about that?" Emma asked. "Me giving Henry up for adoption."

"Henry talked about having two moms when I met him, an adoptive and a birth mother. And then August filled me in on the rest."

"August?" Emma inquired. "Last I saw him he was turning to wood. How is he?"

"Still wooden, although hoping for help from the fairies," he informed her. Getting back to the topic, he asked again, "Would you have kept Henry if you had gotten the money?"

"I don't know," Emma answered honestly. Neal gazed at her as she sat perched against the desk, silent in her wondering. "I gave him up to give him a better life. I was only eighteen when he was born, still in jail. I was in no position to raise a child. If I'd had the money, I might have made the same decision."

They sat in silence, unspoken questions hovering in both of their minds. What if Neal had stayed? Would they have been a family? Neither were willing to give voice to their wonderings.

"But we can't live on 'what ifs', now can we?" Emma declared. "We can't go back and undo what's been done. "

"No we can't," Neal replied. "My life would have been a lot different if we could."

"I can't forgive you," Emma uttered, staring at the room's worn carpet .

"That's okay," he answered. "I was never expecting you to. I thought I was doing what was best at the time, but it seems like Rumplestiltskin clan is doomed to make mistakes again and again."

"Why did you come back, then," she asked once again, wondering just what he was doing in Storybrooke.

"One of the deals I made with August was if you ever fulfilled your destiny and broke the curse to let me know. The day I got that postcard," he said, nodding to the piece of paper she'd set on the desk. "I knew then that you'd done it."

"Then why wait. Why did you wait almost two months to come?"

"It wasn't that I didn't want to see you," Neal claimed. "I just didn't want to see him. I thought I could get in and out and make sure for myself that you were okay. That my presence would go undetected by him, but then I met Henry. I just couldn't leave after meeting him. "

"I know the feeling," she admitted, hating to have something in common with the man she'd despised for eleven years.

"He's amazing, Emma," Neal said with wonderment. "I just know bits and pieces of his time with Regina from the gossip I've picked up here and there, but just after one conversation I could see how brilliant that boy is." He chuckled as he remembered Henry's suspicion of him. "He knew immediately I was connected to August without me saying a word about it."

What color remained drained out of Emma's face. "How much have you exactly talked about?" she asked, afraid of what his answer would be.

"Don't worry," Neal responded. "I've only had one talk and it wasn't until it was over that I began to put the pieces together. I haven't told him anything. He didn't need that with you and your mother gone and his grandfather unconscious."

"Thank God for that."

"I know what you're thinking, Emma. Don't think you can brush me off. He's going to find out I'm his father eventually. I'm not going anywhere now. It's best if he finds out quickly and not from some town gossip."

"What makes you think it would get out," she asked.

"For heaven's sakes, Emma. It's a small town. This stuff always gets out. Tomorrow half the town will know the lot of you were banging on my door and will start to put things together. Or make up their own version of it. And in case you haven't noticed, he looks just like me. How are you going to explain that away?"

"I told him you'd died," Emma admitted, ignoring his question.

"Thanks for that," he sarcastically responded. "But I'm not, and he has to know."

"It's late," she said. "I'm not disturbing him. Let him think that you're just Mr. Gold's son for tonight. I'll tell him tomorrow.

"You could leave that bit out," Neal commented. "I'd be happy if he'd forget that fact."

"How did that all happen. How did Rumplestiltskin's son end up in this world and why didn't you tell me anything? "

"That's a conversation for another time," he answered. "I'm not prepared to deal with reminiscing about home just right now."

"Fine," she said as she stood. "I don't think I'm ready for that one tonight, either. I have to go. Mary Margaret and David will have a devil of a time trying to get Henry to bed."

"Here," Neal said as he pushed a small piece of paper into her hand. "This is my number."

Emma looked at the scrap of paper, afraid to touch it. "Thanks," she said as she tentatively grabbed it from his hands, careful not to brush against his fingers.

"I'm serious, Emma," Neal said as he watched her walk to the doorway. "You won't tell him, I will."

"Don't blackmail me, Neal."

"It's not blackmail," he responded. "I know you don't want to do it, but he needs to find out the truth."

"I think we all do," Emma said softly as she turned and walked out the door.

* * *

"How do you think he knows, Emma?" David asked as he watched Mary Margaret descend the staircase of the small apartment.

"Shh," Mary Margaret said quietly. "Henry's finally asleep. I don't want to wake him. He had a million questions of his own as it was. We don't need him eavesdropping. That will only make it worse."

"Any ideas?"

"Do you really want to know what I think?" Mary Margaret answered, as she sat beside her husband on the old sofa.

"Has she confided in you?" he asked.

"No, she's never mentioned a 'Neal' to me," she replied. Looking up the stairs, Mary Margaret lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think he's Henry's father."

"Really," David said in shock. "You know, I've never really thought of Henry's father. He's always been this non-entity. Henry told me Emma said he'd passed away."

"That's what she told _him_. She told me that he's someone Henry's better off never knowing."

Before David could question her further about Henry's father, the sound of keys rattling in the door's lock announced Emma's arrival.

"Are you okay," Mary Margaret asked in concern.

Collapsing into the armchair flanking the sofa, Emma propped her feet on the coffee table and closed her eyes. "I thought when we got back from the Enchanted Forest things would be easier. This makes fighting Cora look like a piece of cake."

Looking tentatively over at her husband, Mary Margaret voiced the question that had been on her mind for the past hour, "Is he…?"

"Is he Gold's son?" Emma interrupted. "Yeah, although he wishes he weren't at the moment."

"No, that's not what I was going to ask," her mother replied.

Removing her feet from the coffee table, Emma sat up and looked into parents' expectant faces. Glancing up the stairs, she asked, "Is Henry asleep?"

"He just fell asleep about ten minutes ago," Mary Margaret answered.

Squaring her shoulders, Emma answered her parents' unvoiced question, "Yes. He is. " Before she could elaborate, she heard the sound of footsteps running down the circular stairs.

"You're back," Henry exclaimed as he plopped on the sofa beside his grandparents.

"And you're supposed to be sleeping," Emma informed her son.

"I heard you come in and couldn't go back to sleep," Henry said excitedly. "So, is he really Mr. Gold's son?"

"Yes, Henry," she answered. "He is."

"How do you know him?" he answered, eager for information about the newcomer.

"That's a long story that's best saved for morning."

"I can't go to sleep now," he said, practically bouncing in his seat. "Come on, tell me."

"Come here," Emma said, motioning for Henry to sit with her in the large arm chair.

As the mother and son got comfortable, Mary Margaret stood up. "Let's leave them alone for right now, David."

"No, sit," Emma pleaded. "Please stay. I know you're just as interested." Turning to Henry, she explained, "I met Neal a long, long time ago. I was seventeen at the time and just out of high school."

"The curse brought you together, even back then," Henry exclaimed excitedly.

"But this story doesn't have a happy ending, kid," she explained. "Neal is the reason I got sent to prison all those years ago. I took the fall for something he did and then he skipped out of town. I got eleven months in minimum security and he disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Oh, Emma," Mary Margaret cried.

"My record was later sealed because I was a juvenile," Emma informed her family. "Until Regina somehow dug it up when I first came to Storybrooke."

"And you never heard from him again?" David asked.

"Nope," Emma explained. "I looked for him to get some answers but nothing. It was like he'd vanished. Actually, he's the reason I became a bounty hunter."

"How so?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Neal wasn't exactly the most law abiding citizen," she started. "If I'm being truthful, neither was I back then. It was always just petty stuff. Usually food or sneaking into a motel to take a shower.

"Oh, heavens," David exclaimed. "It runs in the family. Am I the only one that hasn't embarked on a life of crime?"

"You're not lily white, either," Mary Margaret informed her husband. "Or did you not take over someone else's identity and pretend to be someone you were not." Smiling up at him, she patted his leg. "Besides, just think how boring your life would have been if I hadn't decided to rob your carriage that day. It was fate."

Looking at her son, Emma exclaimed, "Don't get any ideas."

"I won't," he answered. "But you guys do remember that I did steal Grams's credit card so I could find you."

"Well," Emma commented. "That was different. And luckily Mary Margaret decided not to press charges against you at the time. If I hear of you stealing from anyone again, you will be grounded until you're thirty."

"Got it," Henry said smiling.

"Let's get back on topic," Mary Margaret reminded everyone. "Finish your story, Emma."

"As I was saying," she continued. "While I was trying to find Neal, I got to learn the ins and outs of hunting down people. Took some odd jobs in the field and found it really satisfying to be on the other side and bring these lowlifes in for crimes they were trying to escape from."

"Did you meet Neal at the restaurant you worked at? Was he friends with my dad?" Henry asked.

Startled, Emma didn't know how to answer Henry's inquiry. "What?"

"You said you met my dad at the restaurant you worked at when you were a waitress. Is that where you met Neal, too?"

"I think that's enough questions for tonight," she answered as she stood. "It's time for bed."

"But I want to know more," Henry begged.

"At breakfast," Emma responded. "We'll talk more at breakfast. But for now it's back to bed with you. We've had a long night, and according to David, you have to get up early to go to the stables."

Henry grumbled but did as his mother bade him. Tomorrow he'd get all the answers he was seeking. "You promise," he asked his mother. "Tomorrow."

"I promise," she answered as she followed her son up the stairs, wondering if she'd even get any sleep at all.

_Thank you, guys for keeping up with my story. I just love Neal so much and can't wait for the rest of the season, although I'm also currently heartbroken over a amnestic Belle. Since I'm AU anyway now, I'll probably just keep Belle with her memories intact. Hope you liked this chapter. Please review._


	6. The Revelation

**Chapter 6: The Revelation**

Emma walked down the stairs the next morning following the smells coming from the kitchen. "They're gone already?" she asked her mother who was cooking breakfast.

"Henry wasn't kidding when he told us they left early. They should be back in about a half-hour," Mary Margaret answered as she removed the bacon from the skillet to drain on the nearby plate. "Are you hungry?"

"Sure," Emma replied as she walked over and began to set the table. "Should I set a place for them?"

"No," Mary Margaret said, carrying the platter of bacon and a small stack of pancakes to the table. "They grabbed something before they left. Said not to wait for them."

"That's a good bit of food for just the two of us," Emma remarked as she loaded her plate.

"I thought you'd need some nourishment for the day ahead." Piling food on her own plate, Mary Margaret lifted her head to stare at her daughter.

"I guess you're interesting in the details, huh?"

Reaching across the table, Mary Margaret clasped her daughter's hand. "Only what you feel comfortable with. I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you to spill your secrets."

"No." Emma poured syrup over everything on her plate. "I think it might be good to get it all out for once."

Mary Margaret had always wondered what the real tale behind Henry's father had been. She knew the story Emma had told Henry was false, but Emma wasn't one openly share. She felt honored that her daughter felt comfortable enough to talk about it with her.

"I met Neal a long, long time ago," Emma began as she pushed her food around on her plate. "You guys already know I got bounced around through the foster system growing up. Well, the minute I graduated high school, I skipped out. No loss. They kick you out anyway with a little bit of money and 'Thanks, but you're not our problem anymore.' So there I was, seventeen, and on my own. I had a few odd jobs here and there, but the money was horrible. So I had a plan to leave and never look back. I didn't have any money for even a bus ticket and I didn't want to think about hitchhiking, so I decided I'd look for some old ratty car that nobody cared about and take off."

"You stole a car?" Mary Margaret asked in wonder.

"Wait. It gets worse," she informed her mother. "I was canvassing an alleyway and came upon this old Volkswagen and decided it would be perfect for my plan. So I jimmied the lock and started it up, just like I was taught by a kid in one of the homes I'd been in. It's not the first time I'd stolen. You learn petty theft early when you're in the system. Lifers like me got to be a bit of a master after awhile. I got it started and as I was driving along I heard a rustling in the back seat. Up popped this strange guy and I almost wrecked the car."

"It was this Neal, wasn't it?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yeah, it was Neal. I was terrified, but he joked about it. Turns out he'd stolen it earlier and was taking a nap in the back when I took it."

"You stole a stolen car?" Mary Margaret had to laugh at the absurdity.

"Uh huh," Emma confirmed, taking a bite of pancake .

"So what happened next," Mary Margaret asked, eager for the rest of the story.

"Well, we struck out together and got by as best we could, living out of the car," Emma explained, trying to gloss over the life of multi-state petty crime they embarked on. "And then it came to an end. Neal said he wanted to settle down, but he had a warrant out for his arrest for stealing watches at a jewelry store he once worked for. He had them in a locker hidden, but he couldn't get them or he'd be caught. The plan was to get them out and fence them so we'd have some money to start out on. Make a clean start. No more thievery or deceit."

"And then you got caught," Mary Margaret surmised.

"I went and got them out of the terminal locker he'd hidden them. Everything was going perfectly. Nobody suspected anything. He took the watches, but kept one for me to wear. The plan was to meet back up at a certain time and location after he'd fenced them. So I waited where we'd planned when a squad car pulled up and caught me with stolen property."

"Oh, Emma," Mary Margaret exclaimed in sympathy. "How did they know?"

"They got a tip, but I soon realized that it was Neal who called it. The charge was possession of stolen property. I got eleven months in minimum security because I was a juvenile.."

"He never contacted you?" her mother asked.

"Nope," Emma answered, staring down at her plate. "The day I found out I was pregnant, the guard came in with an envelope. She opened it and out dropped a set of keys. That was it. Never heard a thing else about him until last night."

Mother and daughter each turned their attention to their breakfast. However, the silence was immediately broken by Mary Margaret. "What aren't you telling me, Emma? What happened last night? How did you end up with Rumplestiltskin's son?"

Pushing her plate away, Emma sat back in her chair. "He told me his side of the story."

"Did you believe it?" she asked her daughter as she stood and gathered both of their plates and walked toward the sink.

"Yeah," Emma answered, getting up to help her mother. "It's too fantastical not to at this point."

Turning away from the sink, Mary Margaret stared at her daughter. "So what happened?"

"That night, after he fenced the watches, he said some guy caught up with him who knew me. He told him that I had a magical destiny to fulfill about being a savior sent to break a curse and couldn't do it with him in the picture."

"And he believed him?" her mother asked in wonderment.

"You forget," Emma reminded Mary Margaret. "He's Rumplestiltskin's son. A fact I didn't know of at all until last night. He claimed that the guy showed him proof of his story and knew that anything to do with magic had to be stopped at all costs. So he left me to my destiny."

"Who was the guy who approached him?"

"August," Emma answered, wrapping up the extra bacon and placing it in the refrigerator.

"August!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "How did he figure into everything?"

"Oh, god. That's right. You don't know about him." Emma realized that she had never told her mother the story of August coming through the wardrobe with her. That was one tale she didn't want to get into at the moment. One drama was enough. "Let's just say, he's from our world, also, but someone who escaped the curse."

"But how?" Mary Margaret wondered aloud. "Nobody escaped it."

"I wouldn't say that," Emma answered. "Neal obviously wasn't affected. Plus, Cora and Hook and the others weren't brought over. Evidently we don't know everything about the curse. But the story of August will have to wait for another time."

"So now what?" asked Mary Margaret. "Does Neal know the truth?"

"Yeah, he does," Emma answered. "He figured it out immediately after meeting Henry the first time but hasn't said anything."

"What are you going to tell Henry?"

"The truth," Emma sighed. "Neal isn't going anywhere and while I don't think I can ever forgive him, Henry deserves to know his father. I hate to admit this, but Neal was never a bad man. I may hate him, but I don't want that for Henry."

The pair lapsed into a companionable silence as they finished cleaning the kitchen of the remains of breakfast. Emma was glad for the quiet. As she was contemplating how to approach the situation with Henry, he and David walked through the door after their trip from the stables.

"How's the horse training going?" Mary Margaret asked her husband and grandson.

"Gramps still won't let me go without a lead," Henry complained.

"I told you," David explained. "It's not time. You're lucky I'm letting you saddle up. You're not ready yet to go out on your own."

"Henry, you must be careful. Horses are known to spook easily," Mary Margaret admonished, remembering her own misadventure that resulted in her first meeting with Regina.

"I will," Henry said begrudgingly.

Walking over to the sofa, Emma sat and patted the cushion beside her, "Henry, come here."

"What's up?" Henry asked, wondering what his mother wanted to talk to him about. Was she finally going to tell him more about Neal being Rumplestiltskin's son?

As Henry sat next to his mother, Mary Margaret quietly pulled her husband into their bedroom alcove and closed the curtain. Noticing her parents giving her a moment of privacy, Emma put her arm around Henry.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked worriedly.

"I have something to tell you," she answered as she settled into the sofa with her son so she could begin her tale.

* * *

"What's going on?" David asked as Mary Margaret pulled him down to sit beside her on the bed.

"Shhh," she whispered to her husband. "Emma's going to tell Henry about Neal."

"So Neal really is Henry's father." It wasn't a question, just a simple statement of fact.

"She told me about their estrangement," nodded Mary Margaret who went on to quietly inform her husband of all that Emma had revealed to her.

When she finished her story, David responded in a hushed tone, "So Neal went along with it because he already knew about our world and magic. You do realize what this means now, don't you?"

"What?" Mary Margaret wondered aloud.

"Rumplestiltskin is Henry's grandfather," David succinctly informed her.

Mary Margaret quickly pressed her hand to her mouth to muffle an escaped squeak. "Oh, my!"

"Yeah," David responded, still whispering to his wife. "That's about the correct response."

"Oh, David." Mary Margaret buried her head into her husband's shoulder "What a mess! And deep down he still loves him."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" he asked as he brought his arm up around her. "You heard her last night. She hates him."

"I heard what she said, alright. But it's not what she said, it's what she did."

"I'm lost. You're going to have to spell it out for me."

"After all these years, she kept the car," she explained. "A battered old Volkswagen that should have been junked years ago. But she kept it."

"You heard her," David replied. "She had nothing when she got out of jail. Of course she's going to keep a car somebody gives her."

"But do they keep it for ten years. She had a lot of opportunities in ten years to trade it in and she never did. That car, even if she doesn't realize it, is the one thing that she's had all those years of the time they spent together. I've lived with her longer than you have. She doesn't have that many personal possessions. She just doesn't keep things like other people do."

David looked at his wife as if she were grasping at straws, but Mary Margaret believed that deep down, Emma still had feelings for Neal. What was less clear was if they had a future together. Love was one thing, but sometimes trust was just as important for a happy relationship. Only time would tell if they could overcome the obstacles ahead for them.

* * *

"I've got a confession to make, Henry," Emma said as she held nestled into the sofa cushions with her son.

"Does this have to do with Neal?" Henry inquired. All morning questions had been swirling through his mind about the curse. First, he learned just the other day that Dr. Frankenstein was in Storybrooke and then discovered Emma knew Mr. Gold's son before he was even born. He wondered how many more people were affected by his mom's curse. "You said you were going to tell me the rest of the story. I've been thinking about it all morning. If he's Mr. Gold's son, did he ever talk about his dad? Did he remember his dad was Rumplestiltskin or was he cursed like the people here?"

"Slow down, kid," Emma answered. "He never mentioned his dad to me. But that's not exactly where I want to begin."

"Then what did you want to talk about?" he asked in confusion, shifting slightly so he could look at his mother.

Emma realized that this was probably going to be the hardest conversation she'd ever have with her son. Henry had already had enough trust issues with Regina. She realized by lying to him about his own father she'd just compounded the problem. Gathering courage, Emma drew a deep breath and began, "You asked last night if Neal knew your dad."

"Did he?" Henry asked. "It would be nice to talk to somebody who knew him. I know you did, but if he was friends with him, he might be able to tell me some stuff that you didn't know about him."

"Oh, Henry," Emma exclaimed, hugging her son to her. "When you asked about how I met your father, I lied to you. I didn't meet him at the café I worked at out of high school."

Henry looked at his mother questioningly, "What? Why did you lie? Where did you really meet him?"

"I didn't want to tell you the truth because the way I met him doesn't look well upon me," she answered honestly. "When I got out of high school, I did work at a little place as a waitress. I didn't stay long because I wanted to get out of town. Go anywhere. So I decided to steal a car and just leave."

"Did you get caught?" Henry asked in concern.

"Not the way you think. The police never caught me, but the previous owner did. Just as my luck would have it, he was asleep in the back seat."

Henry looked at his mother strangely as he asked, "Did he turn you in?"

"No," she admitted. "He didn't turn me in because he'd stolen the car just hours before I did."

"What did you do?" he asked. Emma could see his mind quickly processing all the information as she was telling him the story.

"After the shock wore off, we went to dinner. We became inseparable after that."

"This guy was my dad, wasn't he?" Henry responded.

"Yes, Henry," Emma admitted. "I didn't want to tell you the real story because I wanted you to think your dad was someone other than a criminal. I wanted to you think he was a hero to look up to. I should have never lied to you."

Looking up into his mother's face, Henry asked, "Neal is my dad, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Emma answered, relieved to have the truth finally out in the open. "Neal is your dad."

"The first day I met him he mentioned having a car just like your yellow Beetle once," Henry said. "But why did he abandon us?"

Pulling him into a fierce hug, Emma kissed the top of Henry's head and replied, "He didn't abandon you Henry. He never knew I was pregnant. I only found out after I was in jail and by that time I never heard from him again. He never knew you existed."

"How could he let you go to jail for him?" Henry asked, not understanding why he abandoned his mother.

"Well," Emma explained. "I didn't know the answer to that myself until last night." She then went on to give a brief account of Neal's side of the story

"Wow," Henry exclaimed in surprise. "All these years he knew about the curse? No wonder he believed August so easily. Being Rumplestltskin's son is enough to make anyone believe in the curse. But how did he get in this world?"

"I don't know that, kid. He wouldn't tell me last night and I wasn't ready to ask. All Neal would admit to was being Rumplestiltskin's son," Emma admitted. "Are you mad at me? Do you think you can forgive me for lying to you?"

Hugging his mom, Henry responded, "You don't have any other big lies to reveal, do you? I don't have a twin out there somewhere like Gramps did?"

Laughing, Emma reassured Henry as she continued to hold him tightly, "No. I can guarantee that you were the only child I was carrying. No hidden twins anywhere."

"I'm not mad at you," Henry finally admitted to his mother. "Does he know about me?"

"Yeah," Emma replied. "He realized immediately who you were after you talked to him that first day. You look a good bit like him, you know."

"Do I?" Henry asked, starving to have any bit of information he could about the man. "Do you think I could meet him?"

"I think he'd like that very much," she answered. "Would you like me to call him? I think he's just as eager to talk to you again."

"You'd do that?" he questioned.

"Of course," Emma responded. "As much as we have problems and issues, he is your father. If he's going to be staying in town, it's going to be a little hard keeping you away from him. Plus, it didn't exactly work out when Regina tried to keep you away from me, did it?

"Thanks." Henry hugged her once more before she pulled away to stand up.

"I'll be right back." Walking toward the coat rack, Emma pulled a slip of paper out of her jacket and walked outside the apartment to call Neal. As Emma talked out in the hall, Henry paced back and forth nervously.

"Where's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked as she came out of the alcove with David. "We heard the door close and wondered what was going on?"

"She's out in the hall talking to Neal on the phone," Henry answered, sitting back down on the sofa and trying not to fidget. Emma reentered the apartment before Mary Margaret and David could ask any more questions.

"How does one o'clock at Granny's sound, kid? We'll all have some lunch together?" Emma asked Henry.

"Great," Henry said excitedly. He never thought he'd ever get to meet his dad and now he was finally going to get to meet him.

_Now that everyone knows, we can actually get down to plot. It's tiring trying to inform all the characters of stuff we already know. So the fun part of writing comes next with Neal and Henry finally meeting as father and son. I do wonder though how Henry will treat Gold when he finally realizes he has a brand new Grandpa to go along with a new father. Or more importantly how will Gold treat the Charmings now that he's connected to them. Dum, Dum, Dum…. _

_Thanks to all of you who favorited and are following my story. I really appreciate that people like it. Reviews are welcome, too. They encourage me to write faster. _


End file.
